You Know I'm All That
by cynic.in.a.fishbowl
Summary: A new girl. Old acquaintances. Looks like the Upper East Side is starting to get interesting.
1. Hey People!

**Hey people!**

It's September, and that means school is back for another year so say goodbye to your fabulous summer flings and dust off your blazer for the all-important first day of school look-over. You know what I'm talking about – when everyone sizes up everyone else's tans, checks out who let themselves go over break and who came back totally loved up… you people know who you are. Just as life is returning to normal for us, New York City is once again free from the majority of the tourists, clogging up the streets and taking all the taxis. Our city is ours again. all across the upper-east side we're pulling out our cutest Chanel cardigans and Jimmy Choo boots to make our uniforms our own. Just because they say we have to wear it doesn't mean we have to wear it their way. And with the return of school comes the return of the party calendar. Now that everyone's back in the same place, it would be wrong of us not to capitalise on our summer glows by partying for way too long wearing way too little. Make yourselves nice, people, the social season is here!

**Sightings**

**V** still completely bald (and loving it) heading towards **D**'s apartment. Looks like the holiday separation was more than they could bear. **N **and **B** returning to the Hampton's looking as perfect-coupley as ever – although is it just me, or are his eyes a little bloodshot? **E **and **S** heading home from La Guardia _sans parentes_… looks like someone's going to be having fun whilst ma and pa have an extended vacation. **J** entering a bra store on east fifty-second which specialises in the more well endowed end of the spectrum. Far be I to be the first to say boobzilla, but there I go.

**One final curiosity**

Spotted: an as yet unidentified girl picking up a Constance Billard uniform and what seem to be the textbooks for all the Junior AP classes. Is she a new student, or is she merely a temp doing grunt work while everyone else enjoys their holidays? If she is a student, how will she adapt to the dragon's den that is Constance? Will she become the new life of the party, or merely exist in her own little world until she one day inexplicably disappears, rumoured to be on her way to Malaysia to get an illegal abortion... Oh come now, we all know that's what happened to **Cha**. That's why she's never seen nor heard of any more.

But enough of that. When something happens, as it invariably will, you'll know as soon as I do. Because it's no fun knowing something if you're the only one.

You know you love me xoxo

Gossip Girl


	2. The New Kid on the Block

**The new kid on the block**

"Who IS she?" Blair Waldorf murmured to her best friend Serena van der Woodsen, jerking her head slightly in the direction of a girl whom they had never seen before but was nonetheless calmly seated in their homeroom class, earphones in... headbanging slightly.

Heavens.

"Search me." Muttered Serena in reply. This mystery girl was wearing the Constance Billard uniform, but yet had altered it in such a way that it looked almost as if it was the sort of thing she wore on a day-to-day basis. Her long sleeved white blouse had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and was tucked into her plaid skirt which sat at her waist and reached all the way down to her knees. Serena hadn't ever seen anyone wearing the skirt at that sort of length. The skirt was held up with suspenders, and she wore patterned black stockings even though it was only September. Her look was completed by her Mary-Janes which were covered with black glitter and the sequinned black fedora which rested on her black leather Liz Claiborne bag. Her hair was French braided out of the way and her nails were painted a dark metallic blue. A pair of oversized tortoiseshell sunglasses hung from the third button of her blouse, and her makeup was subtle enough as to be invisible unless you knew what you were looking for... which of course Serena did.

"Who's the new girl?" wondered Kati Farkas rather more audibly.

"I hear it's Charlaine... remember the girl from two years above us who just disappeared? Apparently she's back and finishing school." Responded her BFF and figurative Siamese twin Isabel Coates.

"That would explain a lot." Concurred Kati.

"Hi Blair, Serena. How were your holidays?" Vanessa Abrams breezed in, wearing as much black as she humanly could whilst still actually wearing the school uniform, her head covered with a quarter of an inch of black stubble. A black beret perched on her head. "Who's that?" she mouthed to Blair and Serena upon sighting the new girl.

They shrugged. Vanessa put her bag down next to them – inexplicably Blair and Serena, the school's It Girls were her closest friends her own age – and walked over to where the new girl was sitting, absorbed in her own little world.

Vanessa unceremoniously pulled an earphone out of one of her ears whilst down next to her. "What are you listening to? I haven't seen anyone without numerous facial piercings headbang like that since... ever."

"Dies Irae from Messa di Requiem by Verdi." She said, coiling her earphones and exhibiting an Australian accent.

Probably not Charlaine then.

"I'm Vanessa Abrams. I love what you've done with the uniform." Vanessa extended a hand, which the other girl took.

"I'm Amelia Hawthorne. I must say I'm impressed by your efforts as well."

"I know this is rather fast, but trust me, this will save you a hell of a lot of time, not to mention pregnancy rumours down the track." Vanessa stood, motioning for Amelia to follow her.

"Pregnancy rumours?" She asked uncertainly.

"Here at Constance, any unexplained appearance, disappearance, reappearance, prolonged moodiness, bad hair day and so forth gets put down to a secret pregnancy." Vanessa explained matter-of-factly.

The two of them had by then reached Blair and Serena, who were doing their best not to look curious about the new girl.

"Amelia, these are Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen, the doyennes of the upper east side. Blair and Serena, this is Amelia Hawthorne. She's from Australia."

Amelia, somewhat at a loss as to what this particular social situation required of her, shook their hands. Serena saved the situation before it became too awkward.

"What were you listening to? You looked kinda into it."

Amelia pulled out her ipod touch and selected a song. "Dies Irae. Verdi." She pressed play, and grinned at the reactions of the majority of the class who jumped at the sound of the opening fanfare.

"They're not all very big on classical music." Remarked Vanessa in the deadpan manner Amelia was beginning to get used to.

"So do you play an instrument?" asked Blair, half out of interest and half because she was already gauging Amelia to see if she was a threat.

"I play harp, and I do a bit of opera on the side."

My, my. Looks like someone's going for most accomplished.

"And do you play any sports?"

"Lacrosse, rowing, swimming. I'm trying out for the school team tomorrow."

"I think what Blair is going to ask eventually," interrupted Serena, "is are you planning to go to Yale?"

Amelia snorted. "As if. Harvard all the way."

Blair smiled. "Cool. Because I was worried I was going to have to start plotting your downfall, and just when I'd started liking you."

"Thanks… I think… although for the record, I totally could have taken you."

Blair rolled her eyes. So did Serena and Vanessa, although they did it for different reasons. Just then the homeroom teacher walked in.

"Hello ladies. It's delightful to see you all completely disregarding the school uniform as you always have. We have a new girl in this class this year… Amelia Hawthorne."

Amelia, who had returned to her seat as the teacher walked in, raised a hand languidly and called out "Here, miss."

"Good." Continued their teacher in an unflappably brisk manner. "I have your class schedules and other such first day paraphernalia. When I call your name, collect them."

Within five minutes, everything was done and their teacher had left the room, leaving the girls once again to their own devices. Blair, unable to control her curiosity, walked across the room to see which classes Amelia had.

She was unimpressed to discover that it was across the board AP. Like her timetable.

"It looks like we'll be in a lot of the same classes."

"Cheer up, Blair. It's not like we've got herpes."

"I'm sorry, what?" Blair snorted.

"Saying that is guaranteed to make anyone laugh. Mainly because the more you think about it, the less sense it makes."

Academic threat that she was, Blair was beginning to like this new girl. And who said she couldn't play nice?


End file.
